A night at the Big Bash.
A night at the cricket.
I very much doubt that anyone reading this post in the northern hemisphere, will know what I am talking about. Perhaps the word 'cricket' may be one you have heard of occasionally. If so, you will most probably be as baffled as the Canadian sitting two seats from me. His English mate endeavoured to explain the game to him, but it really is impossible to do so.
I grew up after the era of Sir Donald Bradman, Australia's batting legend, and the greatest cricketer of the 20th century. (1928 - 1948) Our summer holidays saw us at the beach, but listening avidly to the radio transmission of the test matches between Australia and England. My brother's played to a high standard. Both my boys excelled. Saturday mornings from September through to April were spent driving them to games, helping out with the scoring and more often than not, sitting dripping with sweat, cheering them on. Watching this game I realised I was still totally lacking in any real understanding of how a field is set by a bowler so the batsman will send a catch to the fielder. There is just so much terminology and science to the game that is beyond me.
My Christmas gift from second son, Matthew, was a ticket to the Big Bash Game at the Gabba, in Brisbane. The stadium built in 1895, takes its name from the suburb it is situated in, near the city centre, Woolloongabba. It is legendary in the world of cricket. Over the years it has become home for other sports and events. At present, there is a major furore over it possibly being pulled down and replaced by an Olympic sized stadium for the athletics and opening and closing ceremonies of the 2032 Olypmpics. Watch this space.
'Cricket' was originally enjoyed in a 5 day test match form.
In the late 60's early 70's, 50 over cricket or one day matches were introduced. They became popular to spectators, as it encouraged aggressive, risky, entertaining batting, resulting in cliffhanger endings. (Both teams bowl and bat 50 overs]
In 2003, Twenty20 cricket was introduced. Both teams bowl and bat 20 overs. A match of 3 hours rather than 7 or 5 days. This game is all about big hitting, aimimg for 160 to 170 runs off the 20 overs. It is family orientated with lots of side line razzamatazz through out the evening.
The game we attended was part of Australia's summer KFC Big Bash (Twenty20) League involving 8 teams.
The Brisbane Heat v Sydney Thunder. 23, 209 spectators.
Teams warmimg up on the field 20 mins prior to the game. The cordoned off area is around pitches or grass wickets, to be used in future games, preventing damage during this warm up period.
The batter (Sydney Thunder) is set.
The Brisbane Heat fast bowler, starts his run up.
The ball is delivered.
The batter hits it well and heads to the opposite wicket, his batting partner doing the same.
Another delivery or ball bowled. It was a huge swing hitting the ball high, directly to a fielder who took the catch, ie he catches the ball before it hits the ground, so the batter is out.
Two big screens replay the dismal and show the downcast batter leaving the field.
Sunset
As the stadium lights came to full strength, the players had 4 shadows.
At the end of their 20 batting overs, the Thunder had lost 8 wickets and made 173 runs. An excellent innings, but would it be enough.
As the fielders and batters left the field for a 10 minute break prior to The Thunder returning as the fielders, the stadium lighting dimmed unexpectedly. This video is a small portion of this half time entertainment.
At its conclusion, on field activities were quickly put in place.
The two teams return to the field amidst another flurry of fireworks.
The Heat are now batting and The Thunder fielding.
The initial Heat batting was extremely disappointing. After the first 10 overs they had only made 57 runs and had lost 4 wickets or batters. It seemed unlikely they could reach 173 runs off their opposition's bowling. Thankfully Renshaw, who had looked hopeless, finally got into his stride and was hitting fours and sixes all over the field. What a come back and so exciting to watch.
A six is a ball hit over the boundary line without touching the ground.
A four is a ball that bounces or rolls over the boundary line.
An over is 6 balls being bowled.
In this video the Heat is racing to a win.
The batter hits the ball high into the air. The fielder for the Thunder has to race back to be in place to catch the ball. See if you can spot the ball high in the air. He drops the catch and the crowd roars with delight. Our man gets to play on.
In the 18th over and the 5th ball of over 19, the batter hits the ball and makes one run to reach the 174 target, beating The Thunder!
A fantastic win, as they still had 5 wicckets in hand and 7 balls to make runs from.
Well I guess you are now totally confused. It really isn't a simple game to explain. The link below may help a little if you have nothing better to do with your time. Sitting watching and taking the photos, I thought it would be a quick post to write. Seems like I have made a real mountain of it!
https://www.hunterandbligh.com.au/entertainment/cricket-for-dummies/
I would love to read your comment.
